2026 World Cup qualifying round, European Group F, Cristiano Ronaldo elbowed his opponent and was dyed red, the Portuguese army was injured and missed the qualifying stage

C Ronaldo was given a direct red card for elbowing an opponent in the second half and was sent off for the first time in his national team career. (Reuters Photo)

(Dublin, 14th) In the fifth round of the European Group F of the 2026 World Cup qualifying competition, Portugal visited Ireland and conceded 2 goals in the first half. In the second half, they suffered a blow from captain "Cristiano" Ronaldo who retaliated with an elbow on his opponent and was sent off directly. They lost 0-2 in the end and failed to advance to the US-Mexico-Canada World Cup finals one round ahead of schedule.

Parrott had a double blast in the first half

Parrott scored 2 goals in the first half to help Ireland lead 2-0. After Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off in the second half, Portugal struggled to create a threat. In the end, Portugal lost to Ireland in an away game, which was quite an upset. This is also Portugal's first defeat in the group. The Portuguese army must win in the last round to definitely advance directly.

As Hungary defeated Armenia 2-0 in another home match, after 5 rounds, Portugal continues to be at the top of the list with 10 points from 3 wins, 1 loss and 1 loss. However, the second-ranked Hungarian army has 8 points from 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. Portugal failed to qualify early in this round.

The Portuguese army is still optimistic about their chances of directly qualifying for the World Cup.

In the final round, the Portuguese army will face Armenia at home, which has only won 1 out of 5 rounds and is ranked bottom. The hope of directly qualifying for the World Cup is still very high. On the other hand, Hungary had a head-to-head home match against Ireland in the last round and had accumulated 7 points. Both teams had a chance to qualify, so there was bound to be a fierce battle.

In the 18th minute of the game, the Irish team took the lead to score. The Portuguese team reversed the ball in the backcourt. Goalkeeper Costa made a mistake and gave the opponent a corner kick. Ireland's right corner kick was pointed backwards. Skiles got rid of the ball and returned to the center. Parrott headed the ball into the empty goal.

In the 39th minute, the Irish team launched a quick counterattack and almost expanded its lead. Ounbe's right foot pushed into the far corner, and the ball hit the post and popped out.

In the 45th minute, the Irish team expanded its lead. O'Shea sent a precise overhead ball from the backcourt. Parrott got the ball on the left side of the penalty area at high speed, then cut inside to get rid of Cancelo's defense, and scored with his left foot low shot into the near corner. After half-time, Ireland took the lead thanks to Parrott's double.

Switching sides, Ronaldo pushed his opponent down in the penalty area in the 61st minute and received a yellow card. However, VAR intervened and the referee personally reviewed the video and finally determined that Ronaldo was retaliating with an elbow. The yellow card was changed to a straight red and Ronaldo was sent off.

C Ronaldo was sent off for the first time in his national team career

Before the referee checked VAR, Ronaldo made a crying gesture. When he left the field in red, the Irish fans in the stands also collectively made this gesture in response.

According to statistics, this is the first time Ronaldo has been sent off in 226 national team appearances. If counting the entire career, this is the 13th time Ronaldo has been dyed red. The previous 12 times all occurred in club events.

With one less player, the Portuguese army could hardly threaten to attack in the remaining time. In the final game, Ireland won 2-0, at least retaining the chance to participate in the play-offs through second place in the group.